ISS Expedition 31 ends with successful Soyuz Landing

July 1, 2012

Photo: NASA

Soyuz TMA-03M and its three International Space Station Expedition 30/31 Crew Members, Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers, successfully landed at the Steppes of Kazakhstan on Sunday, July 1, 2012. The trio of ISS Residents undocked aboard their Soyuz at 4:47 GMT on Sunday, completed two-and-a-half hours of free flight and re-entered the atmosphere making a successful Touchdown to conclude a 193-day Space Flight.

ISS Expedition 31 - Week 8: Crew begins Return Preparations

June 24, 2012

_The six
Crew Members aboard the International Space Station, Commander Oleg Kononenko
and Flight Engineers Don Pettit, Andre Kuipers, Gennady Padalka, Sergei Revin
and Joe Acaba, put another busy week of ISS Operations behind them. Week 8 of
ISS Expedition 31 focused on ISS Science Operations as well as Station
Maintenance and initial crew return preparations setting the stage for Soyuz
TMA-03M’s journey back to Earth early in July.Starting
their week on Monday, the three Russian Crew Members completed the periodic
pre-breakfast session of the Russian biomedical routine assessment
PZEh-MO-7/Calf Volume Measurement.. Afterwards, they were joined by the rest of
the crew for body mass measurements. These data sets are obtained regularly and
are needed for many human research studies going on aboard ISS. Working inside
the Poisk Module, Gennady Padalka serviced the KPT-21 PK-3+ Plasma Crystal-3+
Telescience Payload. The experiment is conducted in automatic
mode and creates a Plasma of fine particles excited by high frequency radio
power.

Photo: NASA

_Later, he completed his first science session with the KPT Payload.
Andre Kuipers started a sampling run with the Air Quality Monitor while Joe
Acaba reviewed
background material and procedures of upcoming ITCS (Internal Thermal Control
System) maintenance operations that were performed later in the week. Acaba
made preparations for ITCS Maintenance by setting up the Fluid Control &
Pump Assembly inside Kibo in preparation for the coolant refill operation. On
the Russian side, the three crew members spent several hours with the ongoing testing
operation of the SEP (Electric Power System) Channel B Power Controller that
was started last year. Inside Node-3, Don Pettit performed a maintenance
operation on the Environmental Health System Total Organic Carbon Analyzer
performing component replacements and calibrations. When finished, Pettit had 2
hours set aside to prepare US Cargo items for the return aboard Soyuz TMA-03M.
Andre Kuipers completed the ESA Integrated Cardiovascular Resting Echo Scan in
the US Lab with Don Pettit acting as crew medical officer. The
ESA-operated ICV Experiment involves periodic resting Echo Ultrasound-Scan and
ambulatory monitoring sessions to evaluate the extent, time course, and
clinical significance of cardiac atrophy and identify its mechanisms. He also
underwent his 3rd
in-flight ESA Vessel Imaging (Echography) ultrasound scans. Vascular
Echography (Vessel Imaging) evaluates the changes in central and peripheral
blood vessel wall properties (thickness and compliance) and cross sectional
areas of long-duration ISS crewmembers during and after long-term exposure to
microgravity. Don Pettit started his final ICV Ambulatory Monitoring Session.

Photo: NASA

Photo: NASA/ESA

_CDR
Kononenko completed his 2nd preliminary orthostatic hemodynamic
endurance test run with the Russian Chibis-M suit in preparation for his return
to gravity. Kononenko also used the KPT-2 BAR Science Payload for a two-hour
session of conducting air temperature and humidity monitoring. BAR
is used for problem area monitoring to ultimately extend the Station's on-orbit
lifetime. To finish his day, Joe Acaba completed a BASS Experiment Session in
the Destiny Laboratory. BASS Stands for Burning and Suppression of Solids and
is a suite of pyrometry experiments examining flame properties and combustion
in Zero-G. Solid Samples are used for this study instead of liquid propellants
that were required for the SLICE Study active earlier in the increment and
during Expedition 30. Tuesday began with yet another session of
the Reaction Self Test for the USOS Residents that completed a short 5-minute
test using a computer application. RST is done twice a day, once in the morning
and once just before going to bed after the day’s work is complete, and seeks
to evaluate the effects fatigue has on crew members undergoing long duration
space flight. Kononenko and Kuipers each completed a 10-min session with the periodic Russian MedOps test
MO-10 "Hematokrit" measuring red blood cell count looking
at a well-known phenomenon of space flight that red blood cell count (normal
range: 30-45%) tends to go down over time. Gennady Padalka monitored & photographed
the running “Physics-Phase” demo of the Russian educational experiment
OBR-1/Fizika-Obrazovaniye. Astronaut Joe Acaba completed maintenance procedures
on the Japanese Remote Manipulator System of the Kibo Module. He also performed
the planned coolant refill on the ITCS (Internal Thermal Control System). Other
activities on Tuesday included several small inspection/reconfiguration tasks
around the Russian Segment and the USOS as well as clean-ups and computer
upgrades. Andre Kuipers spent some time inside Kibo to prepare the
ground-controlled Marangoni Payload in the Fluid Physics Experiment Facility
for upcoming operations.

Sergei Revin completed his next session with the
Tipologia study that measures a person’s psychophysical
state by utilizing the Lüscher Test. Padalka again spent time with the Plasma Crystal-3+ Payload. CDR
Kononenko had several hours set aside for the periodic inspection and
photography of Russian Segment windows #1 and #12. Working inside Node-3, Don
Pettit completed the regular maintenance of the Urine Processing Facility.
Padalka and Revin performed a data collection session with the Interactions
study that looks at psychological aspects of long duration
space flight during which different cultures come together aboard a Spacecraft
such as ISS. Revin also supported the ongoing Seiner Earth Observation study
obtaining footage of
color bloom patterns in the waters of the Central-Eastern Atlantic. The Russian
crewmembers had ~90 min blocked out for another “symbolic” activity with
commemorative items – a standard operation that is done by every Station crew. On Tuesday,
ground-controlled Operations started with the Dextre Robot and the Robotic
Refueling Mission performing three days of technical demonstrations completing
the Gas Fitting Removal task. A full overview of
the RRM and its tasks is available here._

_Starting their day on Wednesday, June 20, Padalka and Revin conducted their first onboard
session of the Russian MedOps assessment MO-12 - Study of the Veins in the
Lower Extremities that examines changes in blood flow during
long duration space flight. Revin also terminated a session of the Sonokard
Sleep Study that was active overnight. Sonokard is a sleep study that uses
relatively compact hardware to ease the experiment process and make it less
time consuming. Acaba completed preventive maintenance by cleaning bacteria
filters in the Nodes and checked the JPM Robotic Arm after its operating
software was upgraded. He also performed more ITCS maintenance. Kuipers continued to prepare Marangoni
experiment inside Kibo. The three crew members of Soyuz TMA-03M completed the
standard leak check of their Sokol Launch and Entry Suits. Padalka worked with
the Plasma Crystal-3+ inside Poisk once again on Wednesday. Don Pettit had
several hours of his work day dedicated to the assembly & installation of
the Amine Swingbed hardware in ER-8 (EXPRESS Rack 8), Lockers 3 & 4.

Photo: NASA

_ Amine
Swingbed is a technical demonstration payload providing a new method of Carbon
Dioxide Scrubbing. Oleg Kononenko transferred and stowed discarded hardware
items in the Orbital Module of Soyuz TMA-03M for disposal via destructive
re-entry. Acaba and Kuipers filled out their weekly Space Headache
Questionnaire and Oleg Kononenko completed water transfers. Joe Acaba also
completed a WINSCAT Data Collection Session. MedOps
WINSCAT (Spaceflight Cognitive Assessment Tool for Windows) is a computer based
psychological evaluation that investigates concentration, verbal working
memory, attention, short-term memory, spatial processing, and math skill of
humans exposed to microgravity for extended periods of time. Automated Transfer
Vehicle 3 performed a Station Reboost on Wednesday firing its engines for 9
minutes and 20 seconds increasing the Station's velocity by 1.32 meters per
second and raising its mean altitude by 2.36 Kilometers. This reboost was done
to set up proper phasing for the Landing of Soyuz TMA-03M.

Photo: NASA/ESA

_On Thursday, it was Oleg Kononenko’s and
Gennady Padalka’s Birthday. Both of them received presents that were delivered
on previous Progress Spacecraft. Both of them had time to talk to their
families and the entire crew enjoyed an extended dinner in the Zvezda Service
Module. Thursday morning, Padalka terminated his Sonokard Session that was
completed overnight. Oleg
Kononenko spent most of his working hours in the SM, supporting the ground in
testing the Electric Power System Channel B Power Controller. Acaba completed
more ITCS Maintenance inside Kibo. Don Pettit was assisted by Joe Acaba when
making his last Integrated Cardiovascular Resting Echo Scan in the US Lab. He
also completed ESA Vessel Imaging. Andre Kuipers finished his ongoing task of
preparing the Fluid Physics Experiment Facility / Marangoni Surface Payload
inside the Japanese Experiment Module. Padalka and Revin undertook the periodic
health test with the cardiological experiment PZEh MO-1 - Study of the
Bioelectric Activity of the Heart at Rest. Later, Padalka conducted a Tipologia
Data Collection Session. Don Pettit spent two hours cleaning up the work site
after the indtallation of the Amine Swingbed that was completed the day before.
More medical experiments were completed on the Russian Side and the US Crew
performed a survey of the cargo situation aboard the US Segment. The TMA-03M
Crew had time set aside for personal crew return preparations. Finishing the
work day, the crew completed hardware reconfigurastions and prepared experiment
equipment for subsequent operations.

Photo: NASA

_On Friday,
Andre Kuipers began his 5th suite with the Pro-K diet protocol. The
full name of the experiment is 'Dietary Intake Can Predict and Protect against
Changes in Bone Metabolism during Spaceflight and Recovery.' It involves crew
members sticking to a low salt or high salt diet, logging their food intake,
collecting and analysing urine and blood samples and preparing samples for
analysis on the ground. On the Russian Side, Padalka and Revin worked several
hours to remove and replace a failed SNT-50MP Power Converter Box with a new unit from storage.
Spending two hours inside their Soyuz Spacecraft, Oleg Kononenko and Andre
Kuipers completed the standard descent drill to simulate several Re-Entry and
Landing scenarios to get up to speed on procedures. Kuipers also had two hours
set aside to pre-pack return cargo for Soyuz TMA-03M. Continuing current
maintance operations, Acaba completed ITCS operations on the Carbon Dioxide
Removal Assembly in the US Lab. Later, he powered up the ISS Agricultural
Camera Hardware for ground-controlled operations.

__The crew
also conducted a session with the SPHERES Experiment. Students developed
sequences that the two bowling-ball sized microsatellites were put through.
These two small satellites are used to study maneuvers in space in miniature
inside the ISS. The Plasma
Crystal-3+ was checked and operated by Gennady Padalka. Finishing the work
week, the crew completed more Environmental Control System Maintenance and set
up different experiment hardware.
The
weekend aboard ISS was normal with the crew being off duty and only performing
essential science tasks such as Pro-K, Reaction Self Test, and Integrated
Imune, and servicing ongoing long-term studies. On Saturday, the weekly ISS
house-cleaning was conducted by the entire crew. The crew members had time for
their weekly private family video conferences on Sunday.

ISS Expedition 31 - Week 7: ISS Outfitting and Science Operations

June 18, 2012

Photo: NASA/ESA

Earth, ISS and the Large Magellanic Cloud

_The six
crew members aboard the International Space Station spent Week 7 of Expedition
31 with ISS Maintenance and Outfitting tasks as well as Science Operations.Monday,
June 11, started for the three US Segment Residents, Don Pettit, Andre Kuipers
and Joe Acaba with another round of the Reaction Self Test. This study uses a
short 5-minute simulation after wake-up and before going to bed to examine the
effects fatigue has on crew members aboard the Station. Don Pettit started his
next session with the Pro-K Experiment on Monday. The full
name of the experiment is 'Dietary Intake Can Predict and Protect against
Changes in Bone Metabolism during Spaceflight and Recovery.' It involves
crew members sticking to a low salt or high salt diet, logging their food intake,
collecting and analysing urine and blood samples and preparing samples for
analysis on the ground. Pettit spent time with Pro-K throughout the week. The
Commander of Expedition 31, Oleg Kononenko, completed the three-hour task of
performing the periodic
electrical plug-in audit in the Russian Segment - logging the specific
hardware/equipment currently plugged in each power outlet.

_Padalka
performed a session with the BTKh-3 KONSTANTIA Payload that examines potential
effects of spaceflight factors and their nature on the activity of a model
enzyme relative to a specific substrate. The third Russian crew member, Sergei
Revin, serviced the Matryoshka-R
Radiation Payload Suite. Starting his work week inside Columbus, Joe Acaba
performed the ESA Integrated Cardiovascular Resting Echo Scan with Don Pettit
acting as Crew Medical Officer. Also working ICV procedures, Andre Kuipers
donned the hardware and started his 5th and final ambulatory monitoring
session. The ESA-operated ICV Experiment involves periodic resting
Echo Ultrasound-Scan and ambulatory monitoring sessions to evaluate the extent,
time course, and clinical significance of cardiac atrophy and identify its
mechanisms. The Russian
crewmembers had several hours set aside for the standard “symbolic” activities
with commemorative items, such as signing & stamping envelopes. Later,
Acaba performed the regular maintenance operation on the Combustion Integrated
Rack in the US Lab supported by ground controllers. Working with the KPT-2
payload suite of BAR science instruments, Padalka and Revin performed air
temperature and humidity monitoring inside the Russian Segment in support of
problem are monitoring with the ultimate goal of extending the Station's
on-orbit lifetime. Andre Kuipers spent three hours cleaning IMV (Inter Module
Ventilation) components in the JAXA JPM (JEM Pressurized Module). Meanwhile,
Don Pettit performed a session with the BASS Experiment which
stands for Burning and Suppression of Solids and uses SLICE Hardware to examine
solid fuel samples and flame behavior in space leading to better combustion
technology, both on Earth and in Space as well as better strategies for
extinguishing accidental fires in micro-G. To finish the work day, the crew
completed small tasks such as laptop reconfigurations and payload inspections.

_Tuesday was
Russia Day, Russia’s National Holiday, with the Russian Crew being
officially off duty. Don Pettit continued his Pro-K study and Kuipers also
continued his ongoing ESA ICV session. Joe Acaba & Don Pettit spent several
hours working on the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly in the US Lab. They
reconfigured the unit bypassing two degraded temperature sensors and
reconnecting them to a previously inactive sensor to get the CDRA back in the
loop. Pettit and Acaba made entries in their electronic journals which are part
of a psychological evaluation operated by NASA. On
Wednesday, Andre Kuipers began his work day by starting another sampling run
with the Air Quality Monitor. He also performed the weekly Water Recovery System
sampling using the Total Organic Carbon Analyzer. Joe Acaba reviewed procedures
associate with Amine Swingbed repairs that took place later. He also worked
inside Kibo performing the Capillary Flow Experiments / Vane Gap 2 Experiment.
This study evaluates managing techniques for handling
liquid fuels, cryogens, water-based solutions and thermal fluids in spacecraft
systems. Kononenko completed his 2nd onboard session of the Russian MedOps assessment
MO-12, (Study of the Veins in the Lower Extremities). Afterwards, he undertook
a 2-hour audit/inventory of air flow sensors in the Russian Segment. Starting a
lengthy task inside Columbus, Andre Kuipers worked several hours on the
inspection and cleaning of two Thermal Control System Water On/OFF Valves. Cosmonaut
Sergei Revin spent several hours inside Zarya, using microbial growth wipes and
Fungistat disinfectant to clean areas on structure surfaces and behind wall
panels. Gennady Padalka conducted an experiment session with the KPT-10
“Kulonovskiy Kristall” (Coulomb Crystal) payload. KPT-10
studies dynamic and structural characteristics of the Coulomb systems formed by
particles in a Zero-G Environment. Don Pettit worked inside the JPM making
maintenance operations and he completed NanoRacks Experiments. The three Soyuz
TMA-03M crew members, Pettit, Kuipers and Kononenko completed the regular fit
checks of their Kazbek Couches inside their Soyuz donning their Sokol Launch
and Entry Suits and ingressing their seats. With mission control centers
watching closely, the six Space Station Residents performed the periodic Emergency Drill/OBT
(Onboard Training), practicing response, communication & coordination
between the Soyuz 29S & 30S crews in case of an ammonia (NH3)
spill. After the drill, teams tagged up with training personnel on the ground
reviewing the exercise.On
Thursday, June 14, Commander Oleg Kononenko spent two hours working Soyuz Cargo
Transfer Operations placing items inside the vehicle’s Orbital Module for
disposal via destructive re-entry. Revin worked 2.5 hours inside Mini Research
Module 1 installing new enclosures/containers (GK) for crew cargo items in the
module. Joe Acaba spent most of his day making reconfigurations on various
computer systems of ISS. Andre Kuipers continued the Thermal Control System
Water On/OFF Valve cleaning inside Columbus before starting the software upgrade
for the Express Rack 4 Rack Interface Controller setting up two laptop
computers as part of preparatory steps. The Fluid Physics Experiment Facility
in Kibo was serviced by Don Pettit. Joe Acaba performed a session with BASS in
the Destiny Laboratory.

Photo: NASA

Photo: NASA

_Gennady Padalka completed work on several Russian
Payloads and started a run of the KPT-21 PK-3+ Plasma Crystal-3+
(Plazmennyi-Kristall-3 plus) Telescience payload. To reconfigure
the Payload, Padalka made cable connections and made sure that all data
connections were in place. The experiment is conducted in automatic mode and
creates a Plasma of fine particles excited by high frequency radio power. To wrap up his work day, Kononenko
completed configurations of the ongoing Relaksatsiya Earth Observation Study
and he performed another session with the Interactions Study. Interactions has
the ultimate goal to improve the ability of future crew
members to interact safely and effectively with each other and with Mission
Control. Afterwards,
Kononenko started his 2nd session of the standard 24-hour ECG
(electrocardiogram) recording under the Russian MedOps PZE MO-2-1 protocol
which monitors human cardiovascular performance in the space flight
environment. The USOS Crew completed preventive maintenance and Acaba and
Kuipers filled out their Space Headache Questionnaires to finish their day.
Friday began with yet another Experiment Session
associated with the Reaction Self Test for Acaba, Pettit and Kuipers. On the Russian Side, Padalka
and Revin completed a run of the
Sprut-2 Medical Study which looks at distribution and behavior of human body
fluids in zero gravity. The experiment hardware includes skin electrodes and a
securing harness as well as software to record data. During the 5-minute data
acquisition period, the crewmembers has to be at complete rest not making any
movements. Working nearly 3 hours in all the USOS Modules, Don Pettit collected
microbial surface samples. Later, Pettit used the
Microbial Air Sampler kit to take the periodic microbiology air samples.
Padalka initiated another Plasma Crystal-3+ experiment run and he monitored
& photographed the running “Physics-Phase” Experiment which is an
educational payload operated by the Russian Crew. Four ‘Compound Specific
Analyzer-Combustion Products’ Units were serviced by Joe Acaba before he had a
major part of his day dedicated to the Amine Swingbed repair that was closely
monitored by the Payload Operations Integration Center/Huntsville. Resuming
work inside Kibo, Andre Kuipers spent more time with the software upgrade of
the ER-4 Tack Interface Controller. Revin worked inside MRM1 again to continued
its outfitting process with new enclosures/containers for cargo items.

Photo: NASA/ESA

_ The
Relaksatsiya and Seiner Earth Observation Studies were supported by the Russian
Crew Members. Closing out their work week, Andre Kuipers and Joe Acaba
completed their Food Frequency Questionnaires. Tagups with different ground
control teams and the upcoming Space Station Crew were also performed on Friday
to perform ISS Planning Conferences as well as preparations for the next ISS
Expedition and associated handover activities. The weekend was very quiet for
the crew as there was only some work to support essential science operations
and standard Station Inspections. All crewmembers participated in the weekly
planning conference talking to all ISS Control Centers around the world to
discuss the work of the past week and have a look at upcoming activities. All
crewmembers had their private family conferences. On Saturday, the nominal
weekly house-cleaning task was performed to remove trash and clean surfaces
that are touched often or come in contact with food or trash. This activity
takes the six crewmembers approximately 3 hours to complete.

June 10, 2012

Photo: NASA

The Crew of six aboard the International Space Station spent Week 6 of ISS Expedition 31 supporting Station Outfitting and Maintenance as well as science operations.Starting their work week on Monday, Joe Acaba continued his first session with the Pro-K Study that was active throughout the week. The full name of the experiment is Dietary Intake Can Predict and Protect against Changes in Bone Metabolism during Spaceflight and Recovery. It involves crew members sticking to a low salt or high salt diet, logging their food intake, collecting and analysing urine and blood samples and preparing samples for analysis on the ground. Andre Kuipers performed a sampling run with the AQM (Air Quality Monitor) while Don Pettit worked inside Columbus and completed his 6th and final session with the VO2max Experiment. During the experiment session, the crew members have to exercise on the CEVIS Treadmill while hardware is used to measure oxygen uptake, cardiac output, and more.

The full name of the Experiment is Evaluation of Maximal Oxygen Uptake & Submaximal Estimates of VO2max before, during and after long-duration space station missions. On the Russian Segment, Gennady Padalka resumed operations associated with the BITS2-12 onboard measurement telemetry system outfitting procedure that started during Week 5. He made hardware preparations on PTsB Central Processor Subsystem units. Later, Padalka performed a session with the BTKh-3 KONSTANTIA Payload that examines potential effects of spaceflight factors and their nature on the activity of a model enzyme relative to a specific substrate. Kononenko and Revin spent 2.5 hours working inside Mini Research Module 1 'Rassvet' to outfit the module with new enclosures/containers (GK) for crew cargo items. Inside the US Airlock, Joe Acaba serviced the Spacesuits that are currently aboard the Station. The Extravehicular Mobility Units were put through their nominal scrubbing process of their cooling water loops. ISS EMUs are serviced regularly to keep them in operating condition in case they are needed for contingency space walks. Gennady Padalka continued his work day inside MRM2 'Poisk' to set up the “Kulonovskiy Kristall” (Coulomb Crystal) hardware for another active session of the experiment that he conducted and serviced for the remainder of the week. Oleg Kononenko had a major part of his workday (~3.5 hrs) assigned to taking noise measurements in the SM with the Potok air purification assembly activated and deactivated. Potoks are used to scrub ISS air and the air aboard newly arrived visiting vehicles such as the ATV. Meanwhile, Joe Acaba reviewed procedures of the BASS Experiment which has been active for Expeditions 30 and 31 and uses SLICE Hardware but burns solid fuel samples instead of gaseous jets. He also had one hour for general orientation. Sergei Revin continued preventive maintenance on the Russian side by cleaning ventilation systems inside the Service Module.

Photo: NASA

Photo: NASA

On Tuesday, June 5, Gennady Padalka resumed his ongoing BITS2-12 onboard measurement telemetry system outfitting task. Kononenko also performed a lengthy maintenance task. He worked on the Electrical Power System and removed/replaced a BUPT-1M current control unit. Also, Padalka replaced several parts of the SUBA onboard equipment control system. Inside Columbus, crew member Andre Kuipers conducted his 5th VO2max Session. Don Pettit spent time inside Kibo continuing the Inflight Maintenance task on the IPU (Image Processing Unit) of the Ryutai Rack that was started by Andre Kuipers on Monday. Spending 4.5 hours inside Zarya, Sergei Revin cleaned structural surfaces by using microbial growth wipes and Fungistat disinfectant to wipe areas behind wall panels which have shown some microbial contamination in the past. Starting early preparations for the H-II Transfer Vehicle Mission in July, Andre Kuipers prepared cargo locations for HTV cargo items. Working together for crew handover, Don Pettit and Joe Acaba performed a session with the BASS Experiment inside the US Lab. BASS Stands for Burning and Suppression of Solids and is a suite of pyrometry experiments examining flame properties and combustion in Zero-G. Solid Samples are used for this study instead of liquid propellants that were required for the SLICE Study. Later, Acaba and Kuipers worked 2 hours of ATV-3 Transfer Operations. Progress 47, currently docked with ISS, was used to top up the internal Space Station Pressure. To finish the day, several crew members worked on different hardware preparation tasks to get various Station payloads configured correctly. Don Pettit had a very special assignment on June 5 and 6. He set up camera equipment in several locations aboard the Space Station to photograph the Transit of Venus. One of rarest of predictable celestial phenomena occurred on June 5 and 6 as Venus appeared as a small, dark disk moving across the Sun. The 2012 Venus Transit started at around 22:09 UTC on June 5 and finished at 04:49 UTC on the 6th. The next Transit of Venus will not occur until December 2117. Pettit acquired several hundred photos of the event. Some of them are available here.

On Wednesday, Andre Kuipers completed the maintenance task on the on the IPU (Image Processing Unit) of the Ryutai Rack in the JAXA JPM (JEM Pressurized Module). Oleg Kononenko continued the ongoing work inside MRM1 for about 2.5 hours and Padalka resumed operations dedicated to the SUBA onboard equipment control system outfitting procedure. Sergei Revin meanwhile performed an extensive inventory and inspection of light fixtures inside three of the Russian Modules. Pettit continued the extensive IFM on the Amine Swingbed hardware to replace an electrical fuse that was blown. Using the KBT-2 payload and its suite of BAR sensors, Kononenko and Revin measured environmental data, particularly obtaining air temperature and humidity data to support problem area monitoring to ultimately extend the Station's on-orbit lifetime. Joe Acaba started his second Integrated Cardiovascular Ambulatory Monitoring Session. The ESA-operated ICV Experiment involves periodic resting Echo Ultrasound-Scan and ambulatory monitoring sessions to evaluate the extent, time course, and clinical significance of cardiac atrophy and identify its mechanisms. The other two USOS Residents, Kuipers and Pettit, performed a session with the WinSCAT Experiment that looks at cognitive abilities and their changes during long duration space flight. Pettit completed the On-Orbit Hearing Assessment and Padalka performed his 2nd data collection session for the psychological MBI-16 Vzaimodejstvie (“Interactions”) program accessing and completing the computerized study questionnaire with the ultimate goal to improve the ability of future crew members to interact safely and effectively with each other and with Mission Control. To finish the work day, Acaba, Kuipers & Pettit took turns as subjects for a session with the HMS (Health Maintenance System) Tonometry payload measuring intraocular pressures on themselves.

After waking up on Thursday, the three USOS crew members performed a session with the Reaction Self Test using a 5-minute computer simulation. The procedure was repeated just before going to bed. RST evaluates the effects fatigue has on crew members performing long duration space missions. Kononenko and Revin spent 2.5 hours inside Rassvet to continue the current outfitting tasks. Later, Kononenko serviced the TEKh-22 “Identifikatsiya” (Identification) payload which measures structural dynamics. The Ryutai Rack inside Kibo was tilted to its nominal position after the lengthy maintenance task on its image processing unit was completed. Pettit completed the ongoing Amine Swingbed IFM, to replace the failed electrical fuse for the valve motor stowing the hardware for the replacement of the motor that is scheduled for Week 7 of Increment 31. The USOS crew performed handover operations, water sampling and the Food Frequency Questionnaire as well as the Space Headache Questionnaire. Spending more time on the BITS2-12, Padalka removed the BSK-1B common power switching timer of a BSK-0.5 power-switching device and replaced it with a spare and he set up another active session of the Coulomb Crystal study that was also active during Expeditions 29 and 30. Acting as the crew medical officer, Andre Kuipers performed eye scans on Acaba and Pettit as part of ongoing medical investigations. On Friday, Andre Kuipers spent almost his entire work day relocating 'Anomalous Long Term Effects on Astronauts' Shielding Tile hardware to Columbus after first disassembling it in the US Lab. The operation was closely monitored by Columbus Flight Controllers at the Control Center in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. Oleg Kononenko began his day with his next session of the Pnevmokard study that looks at the cardiorespiratory system by recording electrocardiogram, impedance cardiogram, low-frequency phonocardiogram (seismocardiogram), pneumotachogram (using nose temperature sensors), and finger photoplethismogram. Later, he continued the ongiong time-permitting task of acquiring footage of daily ISS activities for a TV documentary produced by Telekanal Roscosmos.

Photo: NASA

Photo: NASA

Revin continued preventive maintenance on the Russian segment and Padalka spent his work day with the BITS2-12 outfitting task and servicing the Coulomb Crystal hardware. KPT-10 studies dynamic and structural characteristics of the Coulomb systems formed by particles in a Zero-G Environment. In the JAXA Kibo laboratory, Don Pettit continued troubleshooting the GHF CE (Gradient Heating Furnace Control Equipment), using the Scopemeter with oscilloscope to measure voltage behavior. Before screw sleep, the USOS crew performed a session with the PanOptic Study. This requires application of eye drops causing eye dilation for subsequent ophthalmic examination, performed by the three crewmembers on each other as operator with an ophthalmoscope. The weekend aboard the station was fairly quiet for the crew of six. On Saturday, they joined for the weekly 'Uborka' House Cleaning which is a 3-hour task and involves removing trash from the work area, cleaning of often touched surfaces and other minor tasks to keep ISS in perfect working condition and equipment sorted aboard the Station. They also tagged up with Mission Control Centers around the world to discuss upcoming operations. On Sunday, the crew members had some well deserved off duty time and all of them had the opportunity to talk to their families and friends via private video conferences.

Dragon comes Home after successful Mission - Expedition 31 - Week 5

June 3, 2012

International Space Station Expedition 31 Week 5 was dedicated to bringing the SpaceX Dragon Mission to a successful end by completing cargo operations and sending the vehicle back to Earth. Also, the crew of six supported nominal science and maintenance operations aboard the Station orbiting Earth at mean altitude of 399 Kilometers circling the planet more than 15 times per day.On Monday, May 28, the crew of the US Segment, Don Pettit, Andre Kuipers and Joe Acaba, had their day set aside for Dragon Cargo Operations. The crew members worked through their Cargo Checklists and moved a total of 520 Kilograms of cargo to the Space Station. Dragon brought crew food provisions, cargo transfer bags, laptops and NanoRacks Experiment Modules to the Space Station. As the crew worked through their timeline ahead of schedule, they were able to begin loading Dragon with Cargo Transfer Bags filled with various return items. Originally, Transfer Operations were planned to take 25 crew hours, but the three Astronauts were able to complete the majority of operations on Monday, also running into some difficulties with Dragon's Cargo Accommodations.

Photo: NASA

The fixed cargo lockers of Dragon prevent the crew from placing slightly overfilled Cargo Transfer Bags inside them. Other ISS resupply vehicles provide more flexible cargo locations. Since the return cargo that was packed on Monday did not include any sensitive items, the crew was able to use brute force to get the bags to fit inside the lockers. Dragon Flight Rules forbid any items outside of Cargo Bags to be transported back to Earth. This is necessary to precisely calculate the vehicle's center of gravity for the Entry Process since Dragon is making a guided descent process.Also on Monday, Joe Acaba started his first Session with the Pro-K study that is completed at various points in a long duration mission. The full name of the experiment is Dietary Intake Can Predict and Protect against Changes in Bone Metabolism during Spaceflight and Recovery. It involves crew members sticking to a low salt or high salt diet, logging their food intake, collecting and analysing urine and blood samples and preparing samples for analysis on the ground. On the Russian side, the three crew members, Oleg Kononenko, Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin, were not involved in Dragon Cargo Operations and completed nominal station operations. Commander Kononenko performed software updates on various station laptops to set up for the installation of a Low Frequency Data Receiver also re-configuring network systems. He and Padalka also prepared for the installation of the new BPI NU LF Data Receiver that was completed on Tuesday. This new system allows Russian Segment Telemetry to be sent to Earth via US Telemetry and Downlink Assets. Sergei Revin spent most of his day in the Zarya module removing the failed SEP (EPS/Electric Power System) SNT power converter (120V/28V) and replacing it with a new unit. Later, Revin and Padalka completed a series of educational experiment activities recording video for downlink to Earth. Working inside the Progress 47P, Padalka connected cabling from the Progress’ Kurs-A container to the new Kurs-NA System that will be tested during an Undocking - Re-Rendezvous Sequence in July to obtain data with this new navigation system.

Photo: NASA

Photo: NASA

On Tuesday, Joe Acaba continued his current Pro-K session and completed his first in-flight fitness evaluation. The U.S. PFE (Periodic Fitness Evaluation) is a monthly 90-minute procedure which checks up on BP (blood pressure) & ECG (electrocardiogram) during exercise on the CEVIS cycle ergometer in the US Lab. Kuipers and Pettit completed nominal maintenance and inspection tasks while the three Soyuz TMA-04M Crew Members participated in the On-Orbit Hearing Assessment. Oleg Kononenko and Gennady Padalka completed the 5-hour task of installing the new BPI NU (Low Frequency Data Receiver) and routing the required cable connections for the SUBA/Onboard Control System and SBI/Onboard Measurement System to complete the integration of Russian Telemetry with US Station Systems as part of ISS Telemetry/Data Infrastructure modifications. The next step of this process will be the establishment of the High Rate Communications System later this year. Don Pettit completed air sampling tasks with the Air Quality Monitor system and taking Grab Samples around the USOS. Andre Kuipers acquired surface samples in Kibo and Columbus. He also serviced the Columbus Biolab Payload by opening the gas bottles and the Nitrogen valve for upcoming maintenance activities. After completing more Dragon Cargo Operations, Acaba and Pettit joined for an on-board training session to get up to speed with Dragon Unberthing, Release and Departure Procedures. Sergei Revin completed his work day with a session with the Seiner Earth Observation Study obtaining camcorder footage of color bloom patterns in the waters of the South-Eastern Pacific. Oleg Kononenko set up the “Relaksatsiya” Earth Observation Hardware to end his work day while Don Pettit completed preventive maintenance in the three US Nodes cleaning ventilation systems to prevent dust accumulation.To set the stage for Dragon Return Operations, the crew had a shortened work day on Wednesday to accommodate the early wake-up for Dragon unberthing and release on May 31. The three USOS Residents completed the Reaction Self Test by performing a short computer simulation after waking up in the morning and before going to bed after the day's work was complete. RST evaluated the effects fatigue has on crew members during long duration space flight. With Andre Kuipers acting as Crew Medical Officer, Joe Acaba completed his first Periodic Health Status without Blood Labs exam. Gennady Padalka completed his first Pnevmokard experiment session. Pnevmokard hardware measures arterial blood pressure to evaluate changes of the cardiorespiratory system of crew members on long duration space flights. The Soyuz TMA-04M Crew participated in handover activities and had time for familiarization with ISS Procedures. Gennady spent two hours in the FGB Zarya module, removing three OSP-4 fire extinguishers of the Russian Fire Detection & Suppression System and replacing them with new ones. Kuipers serviced the VIABLE experiment by touching and blowing the top of each of 4 VIABLE bags in the FGB where they are stowed to collect environment samples. Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko completed another session with the Interactions Study accessing and completing the computerized study questionnaire with the ultimate goal to improve the ability of future crew members to interact safely and effectively with each other and with Mission Control. Final Dragon spacecraft close-outs were performed and Dragon's hatch was closed at 13:05 GMT on Wednesday. When Dragon's Hatch was closed once again, the crew began working the Vestibule Outfitting task to prepare the cavity between the two spacecraft for unberthing. Andre Kuipers and Don Pettit installed four Control Panel Assemblies that were removed after Dragon had been berthed on Thursday. These units are needed to drive 16 bolts in order to bolt a vehicle down or release it from the Harmony Module's Nadir Berthing Mechanism. They also removed power and data jumpers that were installed between the vehicles leaving one in place in place until early on Thursday to provide ISS Power to Dragon. A thermal cover was installed to prepare the Node 2 Berthing Mechanism to be exposed to space again when Dragon has departed.

Thursday was Dragon Departure Day and the three USOS Astronauts had a large portion of their day set aside to complete associated operations. They finished the Vestibule Outfitting task to prepare the cavity between Dragon and the Harmony Module. They removed the final power and data jumper and closed the Node 2 Hatch after Dragon's hatch had already been closed during Wednesday's operations. When hatches were closed, Vestibule Leak Checks and Depressurization picked up and had a duration of about 90 minutes. Mission Control confirmed a tight seal between the spacecraft and gave the Green Light to begin Common Berthing Mechanism demating. The Crew initiated the operations to release 16 bolts that were used to form a hard-mate between the vehicles. Driving four sets of four bolts, Dragon was demated in a choreographed manner with Mission Controllers confirming torque measurements to make sure all bolts were released properly. Dragon was officially unberthed from the nadir CBM at the Harmony Module of ISS at 8:07 GMT at a Mission Elapsed Time of 9 days and 23 minutes after spending a total of 5 days, 16 hours and 5 minutes attached to the Station. The Robotic Operators maneuvered the spacecraft to its Release Point and Dragon's navigation system was checked before the Green Light for release was given by Mission Control. Release occurred at 9:49 GMT and the Robotic Arm was retracted. The Dragon was unleashed while the Space Station was passing over the Southern Ocean just South-East of Africa. Shortly thereafter, Dragon made a short engine pulse using its Draco Thrusters and slowly drifted away from ISS. Dragon made three separation burns to leave the vicinity of ISS and performed its Deorbit Burn after completing on-orbit operations. Dragon made a pin-point splashdown on time at 15:42 GMT about 900 Kilometers South-West of Baja, California ending its historic mission fulfilling all of its objectives. Refer to our Dragon C2/3 Section for all information on the mission and photo & video galleries as well as mission updates. After Dragon departed ISS, the COTS UHF Communications Unit was deactivated and Crew Command Panel cabling was derouted. On the Russian Segment, the crew completed several hours of handover activities.

Photo: NASA

Photo: NASA/US Navy

Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin used KPT-2 payload suite of BAR science instruments suite for about 2 hours to measure air temperature and humidity in several Russian Modules also measuring shell temperatures. BAR is used for problem area monitoring to ultimately extend the Station's on-orbit lifetime. Later, Padalka continued the Fire Extinguisher Replacement operation. To complete his work day after busy Dragon Departure Procedures, Andre Kuipers deployed 23 new Radiation Area Monitors throughout the Space Station. On Friday, the crew returned to nominal ISS Operations. Joe Acaba continued his ongoing Pro-K session while Sergei Revin made his first Pnevmokard Experiment session. Andre Kuipers worked inside the Japanese Kibo Laboratory to prepare the Ryutai Rack for its tilt-down, required for an upcoming maintenance operation to replace the failed fuse of the IPU (Image Processing Unit) valve motor. He also serviced other payloads and updated crew procedures. On the Russian Segment, Padalka supported the ground-controlled shutdown of the Elektron Oxygen Generator in preparation for Friday's outfitting procedures. Oleg Kononenko installed a new cable tree inside Zarya for the new Telemetry System. He also installed other hardware associated with the system upgrade with asisstance of Gennady Padalka. Don Pettit powered down the Cupola and Lab Robotics Work Stations and relocated a cable connection for the SAMS (Space Acceleration Measurement System) as well as making air flow measurements inside the US Segment. Later, Pettit conducted an acoustic survey of several ISS modules. Kononenko & Revin had 90 minutes to begin the major task of outfitting the MRM1 Rassvet module with structural enclosures/containers (GK) for crew cargo items while Padalka completed his fire extinguisher replacement operation. The three USOS crew members completed the Health Maintenance Systems / Visual Acuity testing program which uses an eye chart for both far & near visual acuity and an eye questionnaire. To finish up the work week, more handover tasks were completed on the Russian Side and Sergei Revin performed 90 minutes of 'Chronicle' video shooting for a documentary produced by Telecanal Roskosmos. The weekend aboard ISS was normal with the crew being off duty and only performing essential science tasks and servicing ongoing long-term studies. On Saturday, the weekly ISS house-cleaning was conducted by the entire crew. The crew members had time for their weekly private family video conferences on Sunday.

Dragon makes Space Flight History - Expedition 31 Week 4

May 28, 2012

Photo: NASA/ESA

Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers inside the Cupola

The fourth Week of International Space Station Expedition 31 was a true Milestone in Space Station History as well as Space Flight in general as the SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft became the first Commercial Spacecraft to visit and resupply ISS - marking a new era in Space Flight. The Crew aboard the complex can look back at a very busy week as they worked procedures associated with Dragon, Station Maintenance and Science Operations.The Week started for the crew of six on Monday, May 21 with nominal inspections that are done at the beginning of every week and are focused on life support systems on the Russian Segment. Don Pettit completed weekly water sampling procedures and worked on a Ethernet Cable that he modified over a one-hour activity to prepare it for use on the Muscle Atrophy Research & Exercise System. Flight Engineer 3, Joe Acaba, started his first 48-hour monitoring session with the European Space Agency Integrated Cardiovascular Study. The ICV Experiment involves periodic resting Echo Ultrasound-Scan and ambulatory monitoring sessions to evaluate the extent, time course, and clinical significance of cardiac atrophy and identify its mechanisms. He was assisted by Andre Kuipers donning the harness and attaching electrodes as well as putting on actiwatches. The Russian crew members Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin transferred Radiation Assessment Payloads called RBO-3-2 Matryoshka-M from Mini Research Module 1 to the Japanese Kibo Laboratory where they were installed to study the dynamics of radiation environment in the Kibo module and dose accumulation in the spherical “Phantom” to improve space radiation control methods. All three Russian crew members had some time for handover activities and joint operations completing nominal tasks to show the new crew ISS Maintenance Procedures on-orbit.

Andre Kuipers serviced the Fluid Physics Experiment Facility, activated Spectrometer Control Equipment on the Gradient Heating Furnace for performance evaluation and installed the DOSIS 3D hardware inside Columbus after it was delivered on Soyuz TMA-04M. The two Soyuz Commanders Oleg Kononenko and Gennady Padalka, completed regular tasks inside their respective vehicles deactivating Gas Analyzers that are active for test periods while a Soyuz is docked with ISS, but don't run at all times. Don Pettit powered up the ISS Agriculture Camera so that ground-operated Earth Observation activities can resume. Padalka and Revin had some time set aside for Soyuz TMA-04M Cargo Operations transferring delivered items to stowage locations on ISS. To finish up the work day, Andre Kuipers serviced the VIABLE Experiment, Don Pettit prepared hardware for the VASC/Vascular Blood Collection protocol and he & Joe Acaba had time to make entries in their electronic journals that are part of a psychological evaluation conducted by NASA.

First thing in the morning on Tuesday, Sergei Revin terminated his first Sonokard Experiment Session that was active over night. Sonokard is a sleep study that uses relatively compact hardware to ease the experiment process and make it less time consuming. Also right after getting up, Joe Acaba completed a session with the Reaction Self Test. The study uses a short 5-minute computer test each morning and just before going to bed after completing the day's work to evaluate the effects fatigue has on crew members aboard the Station. Commander Oleg Kononenko also worked ISS Science Operations completing a run of the SPRUT-2 Medical Assessment that examines the distribution and behavior of body fluids in microgravity. Several items of Crew Handover Activities were checked off the list by the Russian Crew. Don Pettit underwent blood sampling for the CSA VASCULAR (Canadian Space Agency Vascular Blood Collection) protocol with Andre Kuipers acting as Crew Medical Officer storing the samples in a MELFI - Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS. Gennady Padalka completed another session with the Interactions Study accessing and completing the computerized study questionnaire with the ultimate goal to improve the ability of future crew members to interact safely and effectively with each other and with Mission Control.

Photo: NASA/ESA

The Himalayas seen from Space (May 23, 2012)

Completing a 90-minute fitness evaluation, Oleg Kononenko worked out on the TVIS treadmill in unmotorized (manual control) mode and wearing the Kardiokassette KK-2000 belt with three chest electrodes. Joining forces, the entire USOS crew performed the regular emergency medical operations drill. The crew completed several more minor science payload preparations and reconfigurations as well as preventive maintenance tasks to wrap up another busy day aboard the station. At 7:44 GMT on Tuesday, a Falcon 9 Rocket blasted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, successfully delivering Dragon to Orbit after a flawless ascent. For in depth coverage of the entire Dragon C2/3 Mission, please visit the Mission Updates Pageand for extensive background information, refer to the C2/3 Section with timelines, galleries and mission information. Waking up on Wednesday, all three USOS residents completed a Reaction Self Test Session and repeating the procedure during pre-sleep. Padalka terminated his first Sonokard Run that was completed overnight. FE-3 Acaba started Part 1 of the periodic personal acoustic measurement protocol, distributing crew-worn acoustic dosimeters to the TMA-04M Crew. Sergei Revin and Gennady Padalka completed blood sampling for the Russian Hematokrit Study looking at a well-known phenomenon of space flight that red blood cell count (normal range: 30-45%) tends to go down over time. Later, Padalka completed his first session with the Russian TIPOLOGIA study that measures a person’s psychophysical state by utilizing the Lüscher Test. Acaba, Pettit and Kuipers joined up for a 30-min. computer-based Onboard Training review of upcoming Dragon operations. Pettit and Kuipers also made their final training session for the Dragon Capture Operation simulating hand controller techniques and going through abort procedures. While that was going on, Sergei Revin performed a lengthy inventory operation on the Russian Segment. Kononenko began 24 hours of ECG (electrocardiogram) recording under the Russian MedOps PZE MO-2-1 protocol which monitors human cardiovascular performance in the space flight environment. Joe Acaba performed the WINSCAT Experiment that looks at cognitive abilities and their changes during long duration space flight and concluded his ongoing ICV Session. To finish up the day, Revin made his first 'Interactions' session and the other crew members completed payload reconfigurations as well as nominal maintenance tasks.

Photo: NASA/ESA

Photo: NASA/ESA

Photo: NASA/ESA

Photo: NASA/ESA

Photo: NASA/ESA

Thursday, May 24 was the first day dedicated to Dragon on-orbit operations which consumed most of the work day for Pettit and Kuipers. Andre Kuipers reviewed Dragon Cargo Operations before powering up the COTS Communications Unit or CUCU that was used for direct communication with the vehicle during Thursday's Fly-Under. He sent a test command to Dragon when a bidirectional communication path was established activating the vehicle's strobe light to complete an important mission objective for Dragon demonstrating its communication capabilities. Don Pettit visually observed the Dragon Fly-Under and set up the external cameras for Dragon Rendezvous and Capture performing calibrations and solving some last-minute issues with the Cupola Robotics Work Station. Later, he installed the Node 2 Centerline Camera in preparation for Dragon Berthing. Working with Kuipers, he performed one final test of the Robotic Arm to ensure it was ready for Capture and Berthing Operations. Joe Acaba conducted a conference with cargo specialists on the ground to discuss Dragon Cargo Transfers. On the Russian Side, nominal operations continued on Thursday with Sergei Revin completing his first Tipologia session, Kononenko spending most of his day performing preventive maintenance of the Russian Segment Ventilation System and Gennady Padalka concluding his first session with MedOps PZE MO-2-1. CDR Kononenko took the Exp-31 crew, Padalka, Revin & Acaba, through the important periodic 2-hour emergency egress drill to discuss emergency equipment locations and escape routes as well as contingency response procedures. The TMA-03M Crew also started Part 1 of the periodic personal acoustic measurement protocol. Friday was dedicated to Dragon Capture and Berthing Operations. As Dragon made its Rendezvous, Andre Kuipers and Don Pettit had already configured the Robotics Work Station, the CUCU and external Cameras of ISS. Both of them were monitoring the approach and completed the Rendezvous Abort Demonstrations coming up at a Range of 250 meters. Mission Control gave the green light for the Retreat Demonstration and SpaceX Flight Controllers commanded Dragon to re-initiate its approach. Dragon closed in at a rate of about 0.25m/s and once arriving at the 234-Meter mark, Pettit and Kuipers issued a Retreat command via the CCP or Crew Command Panel. Dragon properly executed the command and followed a pre-programmed retreat sequence taking it back on the R-Bar to the 250-Meter Hold Point. Mission Control was evaluating Dragon's attitude and velocity parameters to verify the these were within specifications before re-starting the approach. Arriving at 235 Meters again, Dragon received a Hold command from the CUCU System that triggered an immediate Hold. After both objectives were completed, Dragon was allowed to resume its approach. During the operation, Dragon went through unplanned holds to give mission controllers the opportunity to evaluate the Navigation System of the spacecraft before continuing the approach. When coming into close proximity of ISS, Dragon had to hold and retreat several time due to issues with its LIDAR System before finally arriving at its capture point. Driving the Space Station's Robotic Arm, Don Pettit received a GO for capture and started arm motion. As he precisely tracked the vehicle through the camera on the Latching End Effector of the SSRMS, Pettit placed it in its pre-grapple position and checked alignment before maneuvering the End Effector over Dragon's grapple fixture. The Capture Sequence was executed and the Station had a firm grip of the Dragon. Capture occurred at 13:56 GMT while ISS was orbiting over North-West Australia. "Looks like we've got a Dragon by the tail," Don Pettit said moments after the Capture was confirmed. "Looks like this sim went really well. We're ready to turn it around and do it for real," he joked after this major milestone in this high-profile mission was completed. For the full story of Dragon's dramatic Rendezvous and Capture, visit the Mission Updates site and look for the May 25 Sections. After the successful capture, the crew conducted visual inspections of the vehicle to make sure its Common Berthing Mechanism Seals were in good condition before heading into berthing operations. Working through nominal procedures, Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers were the robotic arm operators while Joe Acaba was in Node 2 being the CBM Operator. Making up time that was lost during the thrilling Rendezvous Sequence with its additional holds and retreats, the crew positioned Dragon in its Ready to Latch Position and started driving bolts for First Stage Capture followed by nominal second stage capture - securing Dragon in place and making it a part of ISS. Once final ground-controlled bolt torquing was complete, the crew performed the 1-hour leak check operation before opening the Harmony Hatch and performing the vestibule outfitting task, removing equipment needed to bolt Dragon in place and installing covers and ducts. To finish the day's work, they hooked Dragon up to ISS power and data systems. Aboard the Russian Segment, the crew completed nominal science operations, handover acitivites and maintenance tasks on Friday. FE-3 Acaba conducted Part 2 of the periodic personal acoustic measurement protocol, retrieving the crew-worn acoustic dosimeters of and deploying them for static measurements in the station to wrap up his day. Saturday was also busier than the usual weekend day aboard ISS. The USOS Crew conducted another RST Session and the three Russians completed the three-hour Uborka House-Cleaning task during which trash and no longer needed items are removed from the work area and often touched surfaces are cleaned. Supporting Dragon Operations on Saturday, vestibule outfitting was completed and the USOS crew members got started with hatch opening procedures. The pressure levels of Dragon and ISS were equalized by opening an equalization valve. Five minutes later, Mission Control gave a GO for hatch opening and Don Pettit opened the hatch to Dragon at 9:53 GMT marking another milestone of this mission. Assisted by Russian Crew Member Oleg Kononenko, the crew ingressed the vehicle wearing masks and safety goggles as part of nominal flight rules in place for every new vehicle that docks with the Space Station. This is done to prevent any debris or foreign objects to harm the crew. FOD particles could not be seen while Dragon is closed out on Earth and start floating around once it reached space. Don Pettit started a quick visual inspection to make sure everything was as expected inside Dragon.

He reported that no debris or particles were found inside the vehicle. After taking air samples and installing Intermodule Ventilation Equipment, the crew members were required to leave Dragon for 20 minutes as part of nominal flight rules to allow the air inside the vehicle to mix with ISS air to make sure it is safe for the crew to work inside Dragon without wearing masks. The crew members installed more ducts and covers before Dragon was declared ready for Docked Operations. Later, FE-5 Kuipers completed Part 3 of the periodic acoustic measurement protocol, downloading the recorded data from the 3 acoustic dosimeters that were deployed on Friday. Joe Acaba performed his first ESA Integrated Cardiovascular Resting Echo Scan making ultrasound scans assisted by Don Pettit. Also, Pettit, Kuipers and Acaba participated in a press conference to discuss Dragon arrival at ISS. You can find the video here. Automated Transfer Vehicle 3 performed a Station Reboost on Saturday firing its engines for 6 minutes and 17 seconds increasing the Station's velocity by 0.84 meters per second and raising its mean altitude by 1.55 Kilometers. The reboost was a slight underburn of 7% with less than expected delta-V. On Sunday, the crew was able to get some well deserved rest. They completed the weekly planning conference with mission control centers around the world and had time for their private family conferences. They are now gearing up for another busy week on the station with Dragon Cargo Operations and Release for its nominal End of Mission Target on Thursday returning back to Earth. Ground-Controlled Robotic operations resumed on Sunday. The SSRMS (Cnadarm2) was used to pick up the Dextre Robot or the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), to complete a survey of Dragon's Trunk. Dextre was moved to a viewing position and used its own Latching End Effector Camera Light Pan Tilt Assembly controlled by Mission Control to conduct the visual inspection of the Trunk Area in order to assess the Trunk for future operations when it will be carrying external Payloads to ISS. When the survey was complete, SPDM was placed on the Station's Mobile Base System to finish the operation.

ISS Crew restored to Six - Expedition 31 Week 3

May 20, 2012

The Crew of the International Space Station was restored to six during the third week of Increment 31 when Gennady Padalka, Sergei Revin and Joe Acaba arrived with their Soyuz TMA-04M Spacecraft to join Oleg Kononenko, Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers for the remainder of Expedition 31 to restore the Station's crew to six. The week was dedicated to Space Station Maintenance as well as Soyuz Docking procedures and science operations.Starting their work week on Monday, the three Station crew members of Expedition 30/31 resumed ongoing maintenance and science operations. Andre Kuipers continued his current 10-day run with ESA's ENERGY Experiment. During long Duration Space Flights, Astronauts lose a large amount of Body and Bone Mass. This is partly due to the systematic ongoing negative energy balance in micro-G, in addition to disuse. The reason for such an unbalanced match between intake and output is not clear, but previous studies indicate a relation between the degree of energy deficit and the exercise level prescribed as a countermeasure.

Photo: NASA

ENERGY will measure changes in energy balance during long term space flight, adaptations in the components of the Total Energy Expenditure and it will derive an equation for the energy requirements of astronauts. For the crew members, ENERGY includes a special diet, urine sampling, oxygen uptake measurements and diet logging. An armband monitor is being worn for the entire 10-day period. ENERGY continued throughout most of the week. The crew set up equipment, performed water transfers and standard inspections of life-support systems that are conducted on a weekly or daily basis. Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers had several hours to complete a troubleshooting operation of the failed Attitude Control System / Space Integrated GPS/Inertial Navigation System GPS-1 Component. The GPS unit was replaced with an on-orbit spare to bring ISS back to full redundancy. For nominal operations, only one of these units is required for a safe ISS Configuration, however, both are required for the Dragon C2/3 Rendezvous and associated on-orbit demonstrations of its relative GPS System that communicates with ISS GPS Systems to provide precise navigation data. With GPS-1 up and running again, the ISS team had cleared all constraints for the Falcon 9 Launch that was originally planned for Saturday, May 19, but had to be delayed after a last-second countdown abort. For all information on Dragon C2/3, refer to our Dragon C2 Section and the Mission Updates Site. Also on Monday, the crew performed air sampling, cargo re-locations and experiment equipment preparations.

Photo: NASA

Photo: NASA/ESA

Airglow

Photo: NASA/ESA

Kilimanjaro

On Tuesday, a Soyuz FG Rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome carrying the Soyuz TMA-04M Spacecraft and its three crew members to orbit on a two-day journey to the Space Station. Aboard the Station, Pettit and Kuipers started their work day with the Reaction Self Test that was also performed just before crew sleep. The study uses a short 5-minute computer test to evaluate the effects fatigue has on crew members aboard the Station. After completing nominal morning inspections, Oleg Kononenko terminated his 6th Sonokard Experiment session that was in progress overnight. Sonokard is a sleep study that uses relatively compact hardware to ease the experiment process and make it less time consuming. Kononenko also completed his 6th session with the Russian TIPOLOGIA study that measures a person’s psychophysical state by utilizing the Lüscher Test. ESA Astronaut Andre Kuipers performed water sampling operations while Don Pettit completed ultrasound scans of his right leg as part of the SPRINT Test Exercise Protocol. Working inside Automated Transfer Vehicle 3, Andre Kuipers completed 80 minutes of cargo operations. In preparation for the arrival of the three new crew members, Oleg Kononenko set up communications equipment for the Soyuz Rendezvous and Docking Sequence and Don Pettit spent several hours cleaning the overhead crew quarters in Node-2. The crew's work day on Wednesday, May 16, was shortened due to sleep shift operations to accommodate the Soyuz Docking. Kuipers and Pettit worked together for most of their day to review Robotics Procedures for the Dragon Capture Operation before moving to ATV-3 for more Cargo Transfers. The crew gathered and readied exercise equipment for the arriving crew members and prepared cameras for Public Affairs Coverage of the docking and hatch opening the following day. Commander Kononenko prepared a temperature-controlled incubator in DC-1 for time-critical biotech experiments coming up on Soyuz. To wrap up his work day, Kononenko cmpleted another session with the Interactions Study accessing and completing the computerized study questionnaire with the ultimate goal to improve the ability of future crew members to interact safely and effectively with each other and with Mission Control. Thursday was docking day aboard the space station and the crew had their entire day reserved for associated operations. While Soyuz was making its Rendezvous, Oleg Kononenko prepared the Station's Communication System and started to monitor the final approach of the Soyuz The other two crew members were taking photos and acquiring video of the vehicle. After docking was complete and a hard mate was formed between Soyuz TMA-04M and the Poisk Docking Compartment, the crews started extensive leak checks before opening the hatches. Oleg Kononenko performed the 90-minute safety briefing taking all crew members on a tour through the entire complex showing emergency escape routes and contingency equipment as well as discussing emergency response procedures. This safety briefing is mandatory and is completed immediately after hatch opening. Sergei Revin and Gennady Padalka serviced the three Sokol Launch and Entry Suits for drying. Later, the three crew members had time to prepare their personal crew quarters, set up their sleeping bags and computers. The TMA-04M Spacecraft was deactivated and placed in its docked configuration for an extended stay aboard the station. Padalka and Revin took care of transferring time-critical experiment payloads from the Soyuz over to Station. After completing several minor items, the crew of six turned in for some off-duty time and crew sleep.

On Friday, the three USOS crew members, Don Pettit, Joe Acaba and Andre Kuipers, performed the Reaction Self Test and started their work day. It was the last day of ENERGY procedures for Andre Kuipers. Gennady Padalka performed the nominal outfitting tasks of his Soyuz Spacecraft and connected it to ISS Telemetry before starting to process the time-critical payloads together with Sergei Revin. Starting Crew Handover activities, Pettit and Acaba worked in the Waste & Hygiene Compartment. Later, experiment troubleshooting was completed of the SPHERES Chip-Scale Atomic Clock and the Image Processing Unit inside Kibo. This took most of Pettit's and Kuipers' work days. The new crew performed cargo transfer operations and had some time set aside for familiarization with ISS Equipment. The weekend aboard the station was fairly quiet for the crew of six. On Saturday, they joined for the weekly 'Uborka' House Cleaning which is a 3-hour task and involves removing trash from the work area, cleaning of often touched surfaces and other minor tasks to keep ISS in perfect working condition and equipment sorted aboard the Station. The crew only supported essential science operations such as servicing the biotech payloads delivered on Soyuz. They also tagged up with Mission Control Centers around the world to discuss upcoming operations. After it became clear that SpaceX had to abort its Dragon Launch, the crew was informed by Mission Control Houston and responded that they will be ready for the mission whenever launch occurs. On Sunday, the crew members had some well deserved off duty time and all of them had the opportunity to talk to their families and friends via private video conferences.

Crew prepares for upcoming Soyuz - Expedition 31 Week 2

May 13, 2012

The second Week of International Space Station Expedition 31 was the final week of three-crew operations as the crew awaits the arrival of the second half of the Increment 31 Crew. Soyuz TMA-04M is set to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on may 15 for a docking on May 17. Soyuz TMA-04M Mission Updates are available here.The Week for the Crew began on Monday, May 7 with standard inspections and checks of several pieces of hardware aboard the Station that are conducted every Monday. Oleg Kononenko started his week with a session with the Pnevmokard Experiment. During the 1-hour, 15-minute experiment run, the crew member is not allowed to talk or move. PNEVMOKARD attempts to obtain new scientific information to refine the understanding about the mechanisms used by the cardiorespiratory system and the whole body organism to spaceflight conditions.For that, the crew member's electrocardiogram, impedance cardiogram, low-frequency phonocardiogram (seismocardiogram), pneumotachogram (using nose temperature sensors) and finger photoplethismogram are recorded and downlinked.

Photo: NASA

Astronaut Don Pettit conducted his 3rd Resting Echo Scan that is needed for the ESA Integrated Cardiovascular Study. The ICV Experiment involves periodic resting Echo Ultrasound-Scan and ambulatory monitoring sessions to evaluate the extent, time course, and clinical significance of cardiac atrophy and identify its mechanisms. He also performed the ESA Vessel imaging routine to support this particular study. Andre Kuipers spent some time completing the periodic maintenance of the Water Recovery System replacing degraded components and a Total Organic Carbon Analyzer Waste Water Bag with a new one. Don Pettit had some time to go on a search for missing Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus needles and needle holders. Kuipers spent 2 hours gathering and preparing cargo for the Dragon C2/3 Mission for return to Earth aboard the Dragon Spaceraft. Andre Kuipers also performed his 5th session with the WINSCAT Experiment that looks at cognitive abilities and their changes during long duration space flight. To wrap up their work day, all three crew members donned their Sokol Launch and Entry Suits and conducted fit checks of their Kazbek Couches in the Soyuz TMA-04M Spacecraft.

Photo: NASA

Photo: NASA

Tuesday began for the two USOS Residents, Kuipers and Pettit with another round of the Reaction Self Test. The study evaluates the effects fatigue has on crew members aboard the space station with a short 5-minute computer simulation that is performed just after getting up in the morning and before going to bed after completing the day's work. Don Pettit performed the routine maintenance on the WRS (Water Recovery System) before going to the Columbus Module to set up for his next ICV Monitoring Session. After donning all the instruments and actiwatches, Pettit started his 48-hour session with a 10-minute resting period before going about his business. Andre Kuipers had time set aside for Dragon Cargo Operations once again. Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko performed Earth Observations with the Seiner Instruments. Spending 70 minutes together, the crew members completed a Depress Training Session to to refresh their proficiency in responding to a rapid depressurization emergency. For the rest of the day, the crew members supported several smaller activities like communication checks and payload troubleshooting. To complete the day's work, Oleg Kononenko used the BAR Science Instruments to update background acoustic levels needed for problem area monitoring.On Wednesday, May 9, Andre Kuipers started his first Session with the ESA ENERGY Experiment. He spent most of his work day setting up and performing Day 1 activities of this extended session of the study that has a duration of 10 days. During long Duration Space Flights, Astronauts lose a large amount of Body and Bone Mass. This is partly due to the systematic ongoing negative energy balance in micro-G, in addition to disuse. The reason for such an unbalanced match between intake and output is not clear, but previous studies indicate a relation between the degree of energy deficit and the exercise level prescribed as a countermeasure. ENERGY will measure changes in energy balance during long term space flight, adaptations in the components of the Total Energy Expenditure and it will derive an equation for the energy requirements of astronauts. For the crew members, ENERGY includes a special diet, urine sampling, oxygen uptake measurements and diet logging. An armband monitor is being worn for the entire 10-day period. Also on Wednesday, Oleg Kononenko conducted inventory operations and systems inspections. Don Pettit spent several hours working Automated Transfer Vehicle Cargo Operations. He also completed maintenance procedures on the Combustion Integrated Rack. Andre Kuipers' current ENERGY Experiment Run took up most of his subsequent work days. On Thursday, May 10 the GPS-1 (Global Positioning System 1) of SIGI (Space Integrated GPS/Inertial Navigation System) experienced a failure. The unit was not responding to attempts to recover it by making power cycles. The System is fully redundant with two GS Systems aboard ISS, however teams prefer to have a backup system in working condition. Having both GPS Strings up and running is a requirement for the Dragon C2/3 mission making it necessary replace the unit early next in order to keep the current schedule with Dragon C2/3 Launch on Saturday May 19. The Commander of ISS, Oleg Kononenko completed several hours of Progress M-15M Cargo Operations unloading the Progress Spacecraft and placing items aboard the station.

Inside the Kibo Laboratory, Don Pettit conducted a session with the Capillary Flow Experiments 2 / Vane Gap 2 payload. For that, he prepared the Maintenance Work Area and performed the two-hour test before cleaning up and stowing the experiment. The study looks at fluid properties in behavior in space. On Thursday, more ATV Cargo Operations were performed and Kuipers and Kononenko completed some contingency equipment relocations. Don Pettit wrapped up his work day with another session of the BASS Experiment. Andre Kuipers completed more preventive maintenance in all the three nodes cleaning ventilation systems before calling it a day.On May 11 (Friday), Don Pettit concluded his ESA ICV Session and downlinked data that was acquired during the experiment run. He also conducted a 5-hour run of the Air Quality Monitor to assess the atmosphere of the Station. ENERGY activities were continued by ESA Astronaut Andre Kuipers. 2 hours were spent by Oleg Kononenko to acquire more 'Chronicle' footage for a Russian TV project to create a Life on the Station photo & video documentary database. Don Pettit filled out his Food Frequency Questionnaire which is a weekly activity. Later, Pettit completed his next session with the WinSCAT Cognitive Assessment Experiment. Andre Kuipers worked several hours inside the Japanese Kibo module to clean up and take care of Cargo Stowage Items. Later, Oleg Kononenko spent three hours transferring water around the Russian Segment. ATV-3 Cargo operations resumed and Kuipers and Pettit spent several hours inside the Edoardo Amaldi Spacecraft. The entire crew conducted their weekly tagups with Mission Control Centers around the world before finishing their work day with small items that had to be taken care of to set up for a busy week aboard the orbiting outpost. They prepared for the arrival of the upcoming crew members by getting their crew quarters ready and updating emergency information. The Weekend aboard the Station was fairly quiet. The crew only supported essential science operations such as Andre Kuipers and his current ENERGY Experiment Run and the Reaction Self Test as well as ongoing Earth observations on the Russian side. On Saturday, the crew completed the 3-hour Uborka House-Cleaning task during which trash and no longer needed items are removed from the work area and often touched surfaces are cleaned. Also, ventilation systems and crew quarters were cleaned as part of Uborka. The crew completed several smaller tasks to take pressure off the upcoming week to prepare for the Soyuz TMA-04M Docking and the Dragon Flight to ISS. They also enjoyed some Off-Duty Time on Saturday and Sunday and the weekly video conferences with their families and friends.

Photo: ESA/NASA

New York City seen from Space

Crew completes first full Week of ISS Expedition 31

May 6, 2012

The first week of International Space Station Expdition 31 was largely dedicated to Station Maintenance as there are currently only three crew members aboard the orbiting complex, causing science time to go down. The Crew of Oleg Kononenko, Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers, is currently waiting for the arrival of the rest of the Expedition 31 Crew to get the Station back to its full crew of six. Gennady Padalka, Sergei Revin and Joe Acaba are set to launch aboard Soyuz TMA-04M on May 15 and dock to the Station two days later. All details on the TMA-04M pre-launch flow and Crew Preparations can be found on out Soyuz Mission Updates Site.The first full week of Expedition 31 started on Monday, April 30 after the Increment officially began on April 27 with the Undocking and Landing of the ISS Expedition 29/30 Crew aboard Soyuz TMA-22. The week began with another Session of the Reaction Self Test for the two USOS crew members, Pettit and Kuipers. RST is done twice a day - just after getting up and right before crew sleep. The study examines the effects fatigue has on crew members aboard the Station. Oleg Kononenko started his day with the standard inspections of the Service Module Caution and Warning Panel that is done every day. Then, he had the rest of his work day set aside for Progress M-15M Cargo Operations - transferring items delivered aboard the Resupply Spacecraft. Cargo operations were also performed by Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers who worked ATV-3 Transfers for several hours. They unloaded and unpacked items and cleaned up cargo bags. Also, no-longer-needed equipment and trash was moved to ATV-3. Don Pettit conducted a 2-hour session with Robonaut. He powered up the robotic crew member to configure it for ground operations. Controllers on the ground then put Robonaut through vision checks using taskboard images. Afterwards, Robonaut was powered down for the night. Andre Kuipers worked inside the Columbus Module to get equipment ready for his 4th Integrated Cardiovascular Monitoring session. The ICV Experiment involves periodic resting Echo Ultrasound-Scan and ambulatory monitoring sessions to evaluate the extent, time course, and clinical significance of cardiac atrophy and identify its mechanisms. On Tuesday, Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko conducted preventive maintenance operations inside the Russian Segment; He cleaned ventilation outlets and replaced dust filter cartridges.

Photo: NASA

Andre Kuipers inside the Node-3 Cupola

ESA Astronaut Andre Kuipers performed the periodic water sampling operation in Node-3. Powering up Robonaut once again, Don Pettit supported ground controlled operations to perform arm&finger motion tests. After the procedure was complete, Pettit disassembled Robonaut and its support equipment and stowed it. The Commander serviced the Radiation Assessment payload Matryoshka-R by collecting radiation dosimeters and transferring data to station computers before downlinking it to Mission Control. Pettit spent some time configuring the ISS Computer Network and Kuipers serviced ICV Hardware for his ongoing monitoring session. Those two then joined forces and conducted another On-Board Training Session dedicated to Dragon Rendezvous procedures. Pettit and Kuipers spent 2 hours practicing misaligned grapple approaches. While that was in progress, Oleg Kononenko resumed Progress M-15M Cargo Transfers to finish up the work day.

Photo: NASA/ESA

The Coast of Argentina seen from ISS

The crew's work day on Wednesday started with an inventory inside the Columbus Module for Andre Kuipers. Later, he again had time reserved for ATV-3 Cargo operations and ground tag-up to discuss transfer progress. Don Pettit conducted a comparison of two samples that are currently processed as part of the Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-6. For that, he used a collimated LED beam to look for any hazy or granularity in the samples. BCAT-6 is one of several materials science studies that are conducted aboard the station. Oleg Kononenko started a two-day troubleshooting process to evaulate the functionality of a POTOK Air Purification System Unit. This unit was used to clean air aboard the ATV-3 Edoardo Amaldi Spacecraft when it docked to the station. The ATV System suffered a loss of one Russian Equipment Control System Power Feed Channel after POTOK was activated and teams tied the failure to this particular piece of equipment. Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers used the Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device to measure their body masses. Later, Kuipers downlinked experiment data from the NanoRacks Modules currently active aboard the complex.

Also supporting science operations, Don Pettit worked with the Microgravity Science Glovebox in the US Lab to perform another Session with the BASS Experiment. BASS stands for Burning and Suppression of Solids and examines solid fuel samples with the same equipment that was used for Liquid Fuel Experiments. Oleg Kononenko supported the Seiner Earth Observation Study for 30 minutes by taking Photos of the Central-Eastern Atlantic. Later, the CDR conducted a 3-hour maintenance operation on the ASU Toilet Facility changing out several replaceable parts. Andre Kuipers prepared Station Cargo for return to Earth on the SpaceX Dragon C2/3 Mission. He also concluded his 48-hour ICV session on Wednesday. To end the work day, the crew participated in Public Affairs Events and completed some nominal inspections. Kuipers ended his day by continuing preventive inspection & cleaning of accessible AR (Atmosphere Revitalization) system bacteria filters in various USOS Modules.On Thursday, the two USOS Residents, Kuipers and Pettit, completed survey forms for the Integrated IMMUNE Crew Health Survey. Kuipers then completed the second part of his ICV Session, the resting Echo Scan inside the US Lab with Don pettit acting as crew medical officer. Continuing ultrasound scans, Kuipers underwent his 2nd ESA in-flight Vessel Imaging Echography ultrasound scans. Vascular Echography (Vessel Imaging) evaluates the changes in central and peripheral blood vessel wall properties (thickness and compliance) and cross sectional areas of long-duration ISS crew members during and after long-term exposure to microgravity. The commander spent several hours upgrading software on Russian Station Laptops. Kononenko also conducted inspections of airflow sensors and computer statuses aboard the Russian Segment. Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers completed a 3-hour maintenance operation on the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly Air Selector Valve. During the procedure, the valve was disassembled and its seals were thoroughly cleaned before re-assembly and installation. Kononenko, meanwhile, completed more progress M-15M Transfers. Additional inspections and some small science equipment preparations were supported by the crew before turning in for the day.

On Friday, Automated transfer Vehicle 3 ignited its Orbit Correction System engines to perform a one-burn reboost of the station. Time of ignition was 8:37 GMT and the burn had a duration of 20 minutes and 21 seconds. The Station's velocity was increased by 3 meters per second raising its mean altitude to 399.46 Kilometers. For the crew, the day started with the Reaction Self Test before Don Pettit started working inside Columbus to perform his 5th session the the VO2 Max study. During the experiment session, the crew members have to exercise on the CEVIS Treadmill while hardware is used to measure oxygen uptake, cardiac output, and more. The full name of the Experiment is Evaluation of Maximal Oxygen Uptake & Submaximal Estimates of VO2max before, during and after long-duration space station missions. Later, Don supported the ground in on-going SpaceX checkouts of the Dragon CUCU (COTS UHF Communication Unit) by activating the CUCU from ER-2 (EXPRESS Rack 2), plugging in the CCP (Crew Command Panel) and routing it from the Lab to the Cupola in Node-3. Oleg Kononenko completed several inspections inside Russian Modules and performed standard service on the running experiment TEKh-22 “Identifikatsiya” (Identification). Andre Kuipers did some work inside Node 2 to prepare for Dragon Berthing.

Photo: NASA

Soyuz TMA-22 & Earth in the Background, ATV-3 on the right side of the Image

He completed air sampling operations and filled out his Space-Headache Questionnaire. Later, Kuipers downlinked NanoRacks data and configured equipment for initial Dragon ingress. Oleg Kononenko once again had several hours for POTOK Troubleshooting. The crew completed the weekly tagup with Russian Mission Controllers before finishing their day.The weekend aboard ISS was normal with the crew being off duty and only performing essential science tasks and servicing ongoing long-term studies. On Saturday, the weekly ISS house-cleaning was conducted by the entire crew. The crew members had time for their weekly private family video conferences on Sunday.

Expedition 31 underway

April 27, 2012

The Soyuz TMA-22 Spacecraft has conducted a successful Undocking from the International Space Station on Friday, April 21 setting the stage for its descent and landing sequence - bringing home three Space Station Crewmembers after their long duration Space Flight. the undocking of the Spacecraft marked the official end of Expedition 30 and the beginning of Space Station Increment 31 that will start with a crew of three until the Soyuz TMA-04M Vehicle delivers the rest of the crew in mid-May.